


A New Light

by saturnite0614



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Dark Comedy, F/F, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Genderswap, M/M, No Smut, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-03-28 02:12:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13894047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturnite0614/pseuds/saturnite0614
Summary: Keith ends up in an alternate universe where everything...is the same? Oh yeah except everyone's genders are swapped. So while Keith is dealing with Lana and the Team. Kira is dealing with Lance and the others.The four, Lance, Lana, Keith, and Kira learn that maybe their so called rivals aren't as bad as they thought. While Keith learns new things about Lance through Lana, Lance learns new things about Keith through Kira.The question is, will Keith/Kira ever figure out what is going through their comrade's mind and will Lance/Lana ever learn to appreciate their self-proclaimed "rival"?





	1. Reflections and Space Bacon

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't do a modern au but you can bet your ass I did genderbend. That's why Pidge has female pronouns instead of they/them. If that bothers you, you can stop reading or work through it. I hope you enjoy.

Keith was seriously about to pop a blood vessel at this rate. Helping Lance train was already difficult as it was. It was even more difficult with Lance's broken arm. Both boys were quickly becoming frustrated.

"Your feet need to be farther apart, Lance." He said, shifting his feet hoping Lance would follow. The other boy bit the inside of his lip and did his best to mimic Keith's stance. Keith would have never agreed to training him, but the lack of hand-to-hand was what got Lance's arm broken in the first place. "Keep your knees bent."

"I'm trying, Keith." Lance rolled his shoulders trying to redistribute the weight of his cast. Lance abandoned his stance, "Look, Thank You for agreeing to help but I'm calling it quits."

"You can't quit now."

"I'm not quiting for good. Just..." Lance rubbed his shoulder where his sling cut into it, "I need to rest, Mullet." Keith stared at the motion, biting back another retort.

"Fine. I don't care anyway." Lance glared at him with bright blue eyes and stomped away, leaving Keith alone on the training deck. He sighed. How could being in the same room with the blue paladin break his composure?

"Start training level 3." The lights on the deck slowly lit up with the command. Level three was way too easy for Keith but he just needed to clear his head. The gladiator dropped from the ceiling and sprinted for him. The world faded into nothing as Keith fought. His thoughts replaced the darkness.

* * *

 

_"Why do I have to be with Keith?" Lance whined. Keith was about the mumble the same thing. Leave it to Lance to be annoying on his behalf._

_"Because it will be safer if we have one long ranged and one short ranged fighter in a group." Shiro's voice echoed through their helmets. Keith was crouched behind a pillar with Lance on his right, mumbling some choice words about his assignment._

_"Lance." Keith whispered harshly. Lance's eyes shifted over to him, "Shut up." Keith finished. Lance let out one last indignant sigh before going silent. Boots marching across the floor came from behind the two paladins hiding spot. Keith mouthed a countdown, hoping Lance was paying attention. As soon as Keith reached three, Lance sprinted out from behind the pillar and into action. Keith was out just as fast but was greeted by something he had never seen before._

_Instead of the regular sentry bots the Galra had previously stationed, this robot was taller and made of a black metal. Purple shone through two slits that served as its eyes. In its hand was a thin blade that was wicked sharp and reflected Keith's shocked face. Blaster fire pulled him from his own head as Lance fired shot after shot into the second sentry's face. Although it did nothing to slow him down. Keith leaped forward and brought his bayard down and was quickly parried by the sentry. From the grunts he heard across the room, Lance was having as much luck as Keith._

_The two boys dodged and hit every time the opportunity became available, but barely made a dent._

_"Where are you guys?" Pidge screamed over the intercom, "We need to leave_ now _!" "_

_We're a little preoccupied if you don't mind!" Lance's voice was doubled, one coming in over the coms and one from the other side of the room._

_"Shiro, you think we could get some back up?" Keith dodged another sword swipe, but it still managed to graze his calf._ _His knee buckled and a hand gripped his arms, keeping him restrained. His bayard fell to the ground. Some shuffling came from behind him and it was safe to assume that Lance was in a similar situation. The sentry spun Keith so that he was facing Lance._

_The blue paladin struggled to no avail. Blood trickled down the side of his head and his helmet was nowhere to be seen. Lance was screaming some words in angry Spanish as he continued to struggle. The sentry flung Lance to the ground before seizing one of his arms with both hands. Lance kicked but the sentry didn't budge. Keith struggled as well until a large snap pulled his eyes back up to Lance who's screams cut off abruptly. Lance's right arm was bent at an unnatural angle and the armor plating around it was broken._

_Keith opened his mouth to scream._

* * *

 

Shiro's voice rang out though the training deck, "End training sequence." Keith turned. His chest struggled for air and his hair was stuck to his face with sweat. Shiro calmly walked over and pried Keith's bayard from his hand.

"You've been in here for hours. You know that right?"

"Have I?" Mucles screamed and lungs contracted as the words left Keith's mouth. Shiro gave him a concerned once over and placed his hand on Keith's shoulder and lead him out of the training deck.

"I meant to thank you." He said, Galra arm still on his shoulder. "I'm glad that you and Lance are getting along." Keith rolled his eyes,

"I wouldn't call it getting along. More like, _not at each other's throats_."

"Keith," Shiro slanted his eyes and glared at him, "Take a damn compliment." The two chuckled and continued down the hallway. They continued idle chitchat until they reached a familiar with voices coming from the other side.

"I don't see how that is supposed to bacon, Hunk. I love you, I really do, but that is not bacon." Pidge argued. Shiro and Keith both stepped into the kitchen, but neither Hunk nor Pidge acknowledged them.

"I don't see how you can refuse to call it bacon if you haven't even tasted it." Hunk tossed a spoon at her. Pidge sat lower in her seat to dodge it and glared daggers at the plate in front of her.

Keith stepped towards the table and grabbed the food off of Pidge's plate, "I'll try it." He turned and saw Hunk smiling at him before sending a friendly glare towards Pidge. Keith turned the new food over in his hand. He couldn't see how it could be bacon either. It was a deep purple with dark red lines running through it. It smelled like bacon so it was worth a shot.

He took a small bite and prepared himself to spit it back out but was surprised when it acutally tasted like bacon. "How do you do it, Hunk?"

"It's good right?" Hunk grabbed another piece from Pidge's plate, "Keith trusts me, why can't you?" Pidge grunted and grabbed a piece for herself. She tried to hide how happy she was having a familiar taste back in her life but a smile tugged at the corner of her pout.

Shiro stepped up and grabbed a piece as well. After taking a bite and deeming it safe himself he adressed Hunk, "Why is Pidge taste testing? Doesn't Lance usually do it for you?" Hunk shifted his gaze to the floor and shrugged. He tried to hide his nervousness but failed.

"What's wrong?" Keith asked, grabbing another piece of space bacon.

"Nothing...I just haven't seen Lance since this morning." He said. Hunk set a half finished piece of bacon back on the plate and sat down next to Pidge.

Shiro took the seat on the other side of Pidge, "I wonder what's gotten into him." Shiro absently rubbed the spot where his Galra arm met his shoulder. Keith shifted uncomfortably in his spot. He'd noticed it too. Lance had been more drawn back since his arm was broken.

"Well, you weren't there when his arm was broken. It was pretty tramatic." Keith said, taking a seat opposite to Shiro. "I still have nightmares about it."

Shiro nodded, "I'll go talk to him." He went to stand but Pidge put a hand on his.

"We should leave him alone."

Hunk returned to eating his piece of bacon, "I agree. He used to do this all the time of the Garrison. He'd fail a test or get one-uped and mope for a couple of days. Lance'll be fine." Keith still felt uneasy about letting Lance to deal with it himself but then remember how much of a jerk Lance was when they first met. Hell, Lance still can be a jerk. 

* * *

 

Lance finally came out of his room around dinner time. He looked better and even talked more but everyone could tell he still wasn't up to his best. "I can't believe Hunk figured out how to make bacon." He said. turning over a piece in his hand.

"I can't either." Keith said. He was sitting next to Lance with a plate of food (Coran made it. Honestly, Keith was afraid to taste.) He had actaully found himself sitting next to Lance during most of their meals.

Lance opened his mouth to say something (probably snarky) but a voice over the intercom interrupted him.

"Paladins," Allura's voice rang out through the whole castle, "Please report to the bridge."

Lance tossed down his food and stood. It surprised Keith to see him so quick to abandon food. Another thing to add to Keith's concern. They walked side by side on their way to the bridge. Lance kept his distance and constantly rolled his shoulders, unused to the added weight they carried.

"How's your arm?" Keith asked warily. He was worried but didn't really do well interacting with people, especially Lance.

"Peachy." Was all Lance said. His pace quicken and Keith had to hurry to keep up. He didn't push the subject. If Lance of all people didn't want to talk then Keith wasn't going to push it. He didn't know where the two of them stood. At times, it seemed like the two boys were actually friends. Then, Lance would turn around and act like a dick. It was confusing for someone who already had trouble reading people. Keith continued to stare at Lance out of the corner of his eye. He didn't look any different. Lance seemed just as alert as he was before but there was some dark entity draped over him, like he was holding back.

They arrived at the bridge last and could tell Allura was ansty to be getting started so late. Shiro stood at her side, arms crossed. He has already assumed leader position. Pidge sat on the arm of Hunk's chair while Hunk himself occupied said chair. Coran stood on Allura's left to the back. Everyone's face held an impassive look meaning whatever they were late for wasn't as serious as it could have been. 

"Thank you all for coming in a timely manner," She glared directly at Keith and Lance. "Coran and I were observing near by star systems and found something particularly interesting." Allura turned and pulled up the giant star map that filled the whole bridge and washed everyone in blue light. Keith noticed that every time the star map was up, Lance's eyes became heavy, like they were filled with some form of sadness that Keith would never know. He wanted to know what was going on in Lance's head. He seemed like the easiest to read when they first met but recent events had proven otherwise.

Allura zoomed in on one small and remote star system and selected one particular planet. "Here we found some old buildings and no life form readings." She pulled up some scans of the planet. Buildings littered the ground. They look familiar in design but Keith couldn't place where he could have seen them before.

Pidge scooted off of Hunk's chair and peered at the scans, "These look Altean." She inquired.

Coran nodded, "They are." 

Allura selected a particular one. "Despite lack of biotic findings, the Castle picked up some unusually strong and distinct energy readings from this one building."

Coran peered closer at the scans, "This looks like an Altean temple. I wonder what they were doing on an abandoned planet."

Shiro put his hands on his hips in an authoritative manner, "I guess would should check it out, especially since it is Altean."

Allura's lips curved into a small smile, "That was the plan. I was hoping we could do it now despite the late time." Shiro returned his smile, meanwhile Allura closed the star map and the depressing look in Lance's eyes lessened but was still there. Keith once again pulled his eyes off of Lance's face to pay close attention to Shiro's words.

"Since the Castle didn't pick up in life forms, it is safe to say that we can split up and cover more ground. Keith," He turned to him and dropped his hands to his sides, "Could you fly Lance with you."

Keith was about the agree but Lance interrupted with an indignant noise of protest, "Why does he have to fly me?"

Shiro leveled his Dad gaze at Lance and Keith saw Lance's muscles tense up, "Because you can't pilot or protect yourself with one arm. Everyone get to your lions."

Despite Lance's audible protests, he followed Keith and kept pace with him. More confusion settled itself in Keith's gut.

* * *

 

Keith kept glancing at Lance from the corner of his eye trying to gauge his mood. Lance was trying to cross his arms but was experiencing interference due to his cast. Keith never thought Lance as particularly muscular because he favored baggy clothes but their armor showed off every curve. Including Lance's lean muscles. A slight blush settle itself on Keith's face and he quickly shifted his gaze. Although it kept landing itself on Lance's face. For some reason, he was oddly attractive when he wan't making an ass of himself.

He set Red down a few yards from the Altean temple with the strongest energy readings. The two paladins quickly extricated themselves from the lion and were met with an unsettling silence. The planet looked like the desert Keith used to live in except there was no color. The sand was a dusty gray and the sky was a pale sickly blue. Light clouds dusted themselves across the sky. Despite the lack of wind, sand was still shifting around there feet.

Keith was too distracted to notice that Lance was already making his was to the temple. Yet again, Keith had to jog to catch up. A sense of dread led to Keith's eyes constantly shifting. Lance seemed unaffected by the silence, instead he seem oddly focused. Keith was struck by how attractive he looked.

The two finally reached the temple and found the door completely gone. Sand and dust covered the once white floors in thick layers while blue lights shone weakly against the darkness. Keith lifted his wrist and turned on his flashlight. Lance followed suit. They both walked in silence, their footsteps echoed throughout the long and desolate halls. Keith pulled up his map where a blue light sat farther in front of them. They seemed to be getting closer to the energy signature.

The long hallway ended at a lone staircase leading downwards. The weak blue lights from the walls didn't continue into the stair case. Lance would have fell down them if Keith hadn't grabbed his shoulder, careful not to jostle his arm too much. Lance pointed his flashlight down the stairs that seemed to go on forever. A certain type of fear clouded his eyes as he looked over to Keith. The red paladin shrugged and started down the staircase. The only light came from their combined flashlights and Keith's map. The blue dot continued to get closer the farther down they went.

After what seemed like forever, the stairs opened into a large empty room. It didn't look that special, considering it had the same dusty walls and weak lighting as the rest of the temple, but a fuzzy feeling at the base of Keith's skull told him something was off about this room. Along with the fact the the blue dot on the map was located in this room. Whatever was causing the energy spike was in this room.

"I'll take the right, you take the left." Keith said, glancing over to Lance. The same fear sat on Lance's usually confidant features. Keith expected some form of argument or snide comment but Lance nodded.

"Sure thing." He pointed his good arm towards the left and shuffled off. Keith continued to stare at Lance poking at walls and examining the floor. He shook his head and headed right. The walls had some Altean markings on them but Keith couldn't read Altean so he had no idea what they said. He followed the wall, his gloved hand lightly caressing the etched markings, looking for some kind of meaning in them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or extra special. It didn't take long for the two boys to meet up once again. They stood side by side facing the wall opposite of the staircases. A lone pillar stood a couple feet from the wall.

"What is it?" Lance asked. It was about half Keith's height and made of a dark aqua colored stone. White lights snaked themselves up the side in intricate curves and waves. Keith reached out his hand to touch it.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, its expelling a lot of energy." Keith's fingers lightly grazed it. Lance reached his hand out to touch the top of it where a clear crystal sat. When his fingers made contact with the stone, the dim white lights glowed brighter and hit the crystal. Light refracted everywhere. It washed Lance with a white light and in that moment Keith's heart stopped. Lance looked like...like magic itself. His eyes shone with awe and light while his dark skin practically glowed and showed off the beauty of his brown hair. A red blush spread itself across Lance's cheeks and nose. Because Keith didn't know it, but Lance saw him in a completely new light.

Keith's usually dark gray eyes shone purple and his pale skin seemed magical. His dark hair curled itself around his sharp and delicate features. Had Keith always looked that cute?

Keith pulled his eyes from Lance and followed the white tendrils of light to the center of the room where a new object occupied the space. It was thin and reflective like a mirror and hovered a few inches above the floor. Both boys walked over to it stiffly. They could see themselves in it. Keith reached out to touch it, as did his reflection.

The awe in Lance's eyes quickly drained away, "Keith, maybe you shouldn't-"

Keith's finger connected with the object and it exploded into millions of tiny little shards. The blast threw both boys backwards where Lance's head connected with the pillar and he dropped like a stone. Keith flew backwards and hit the wall. The bright white that filled the room quickly turned to black as Keith blacked out.

* * *

 

The red paladin struggled to open his eyes. Pain threaded itself into every one of his nerves. The room was back to its original state except for the addition of glass that littered the floor. Muscles and nerves protested as Keith pulled himself up and dragged his sore body over to Lance. His eyes were closed and some blood dripped thinly down his cheek. Keith slowly removed his helmet to check the damage.

Long brown hair tumbled down Lance's shoulders. Keith tensed and stopped. Since when was Lance's hair to his chest? Thin braids were littered throughout. He continued to examine them when movement caught his eye.

Lance's eyes fluttered open and weakly surveyed Keith before settling on his face. Confusion filled his features then fear. He stumbled backwards from Keith, "Who are you?"

The voice that came out was like Lance's except higher in pitch and definitely more feminine.

"It's me...Keith." He spoke hesitantly and continued observing Lance. The armor looked the same except it was was more pointed at the chest and more curved around the limbs. Keith's eyes trailed upwards to Lance's face. It was the same face except smaller and slimmer. Blue eyes were framed by long black eye lashes and eyeliner that came to a point on the outside corners. Lance's lips were pink and glossy.

"Okay, Keith," Lance snapped, "Where's Kira? And why are you wearing paladin armor?" Lance asked.

"What? Who's Kira? Lance," Keith inched forward, "Are you okay?" Lance stood quickly and braced himself on the wall. He brushed some hair behind his ear and revealed three ear piercings. Two small blue hoops sat at the lobe while a silver stud was placed towards the top of his ear.

"Who the fuck is Lance?" Lance asked.

"Aren't...Aren't you?" They both stood straighter and examined each other.

"My name's Lana, Keith. Where's Kira?" Lana asked again.

"Hey, man, you must have seriously hit your head." Keith walked forward and attempted to check out Lana/Lance's head injury.

" _Man_?" They squawked, "First of all, I identify as female. I was born female and prefer it."

"Now I'm confused." Keith stopped trying to check Lana's head. All the anger drained from her face as well.

"So am I." Lana brushed some more hair behind her ear. Her right arm was in a cast, just like Lance's.

Keith was about to ask about it when some voices came through Lana's helmet. Lana quickly snatched it with her good hand and plopped it back on her head.

"Sure Shira. We'll be right up." Lana pointed to Keith, "You're coming with me until we figure this out mullet." She attempted to stomp away but stumbled. Keith caught her arm.

"Whoa, you have a concussion I'm guessing. Let me help." Lana attempted to protest but doubled over and proceeded to vomit. She swayed some more when she stood.

"Okay." The two stumbled arm and arm up the steps and to the Red Lion.

"Shit!" Lana cursed, "How are we going to fly Red without Kira?"

Keith pulled her forwards. "Trust me."

* * *

 

Lana let out a string of curses in Spanish when Keith was able to fly Red.

"How? Only Kira can fly Red." She continued to mumble obscene Spanish curses as Keith piloted Red back to the Castle of Lions.

"Because I pilot the Red Lion. Hence the red armor." Keith retorted.

"I better be dreaming. The explosion knocked me out, yep, seems reasonable."

Keith's breath slowed, "Explosion?"

"Yeah." Lana let out a breath, "Kira touched this mirror and the next thing we knew..." Lana made a explosion sound and gesture with her one hand.

"The same thing happened to me and Lance. When I woke up, I found you." Keith heard Lana's breath hitch. She started mumbling. He heard some words like Slav and alternate realities.

"Shit, Shit this is bad." She started pacing, "We need to get back quickly."

"You need to stop pacing and sit down. It isn't good for your concussion." Keith reminded her.

"You don't understand Keith. This is really bad. Just put the petal to the metal."

* * *

 

Lana immediately headed towards the bridge instead of the med bay despite the concussion and blood slipping down her face. Keith sprinted to catch up with her. She pulled her helmet off and stomped on the bridge. Keith pulled of his helmet as well. He was greeted by the team when he stepped into the bridge except they all looked different.

Shiro had short hair pulled into a small, poofy ponytail with black hair slipping out in front of his ears. Bangs hung over his eyebrows, a significant portion shock white. Looking down, Keith realized he was using the wrong pronoun because some unfamiliar curves filled her chest.

Allura stood next to him with a lack of said curves. White hair was pulled into an even smaller ponytail, similar to Alfor's hair.

Pidge didn't look that much different but was a bit taller and had less feminine eyes.

Hunk was curvier and had dark hair resting on his shoulders, the orange bandanna still present.

"What the fu-" Keith started.

"Shira," Lana panted, "We have a problem." Shira/Shiro looked over and immediately spotted Keith. They looked him over.

"Yeah we do."


	2. Trust and Multiverse Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed my mind about it being from Kira's perspective because it would just be a rehashing of the previous chapter and that would be boring. I know this chapter has been a long time coming but I was so busy with school and had no motivation to write but I wanted to get something out before season 6 airs and my birthday.
> 
> Enjoy!

Someone's voice wormed its way into Lance's brain as he struggled to open his eyes. Ringing was drowning out the voice. His eyes landed weakly on a pale face framed by wavy black hair. Pink lips were forming words that Lance couldn't comprehend. Was that Keith gripping his shoulders? Except the name the voice was saying didn't sound familiar.

 

"Lana? Lana, can you hear me?" Keith pulled him up slowly, gloved hands gripping his biceps. Keith's hands left his arms and moved to remove his helmet.

 

_"Quiznack…"_ They both said at the same time. The person in front of Lance looked like Keith but _her_ hair was noticeably longer and curlier than before. Her lashes were longer and thicker and red armor hugged new curves.

 

"You're not Lana." Her voice sounded similar but was lighter and huskier.

 

"And you're not Keith." He responded. The two stared at each other with confusion coating their features. Lance took a moment to closer examine her face, noticing everything that was Keith but wasn't. Not that Lance could see the subtle differences because that would mean that he spent time looking at Keith's face, which he did _not_ do. "The name's Lance."

 

"Kira." Her hands gripped Lance's helmet and she shifted uncomfortably. "So… Do you know what  just happened?" Purple eyes searched his face with an unfamiliar openness.

 

Lance crossed his arms, wincing as pain stung his ribs, "Mullet touched this mirror looking thing and-"

 

"And it exploded, right?" She finished, "The same thing happened to me and Lana. Also, who's Mullet?"

 

"Keith, my significant annoyance. Who's Lana?"

 

"I guess significant annoyance covers her too." Kira and Lance both laughed at the same time. The movement made Lance's vision blur and the floor swayed under him. Kira shoved his helmet back on and followed by placing hers back on her head.

 

"We should go, see if someone can figure this out." She turned around and marched off towards the stairs. Lance's stomach twisted itself in knots as his brain struggled to piece together what was happening. Standing in front of him was a (beautiful) girl wearing red paladin armor with features similar to Keith's and claimed to have gone through something like what Lance just went through

 

"Wait," Kira turned toward Lance as he spoke. He may not be the smartest paladin in Voltron but he's not stupid, after all he made it into the Galaxy Garrison. "Maybe I _am_ Lana and you _are_ Keith.

 

Kira's violet eyes turned to slits as she glared at him through her visor, "That is the dumbest idea I've heard."

 

Lance rolled his eyes, "Think about it, Keith looks exactly like you. His hair is a bit shorter and he's a bit taller but you two seem exactly the same. Now look at me and tell me I don't look like Lana." He was expecting Kira to scoff and tell him he's being a dumbass. But she looked him over and her face slowly relaxed.

 

"So…What are you saying?" She didn't move from her spot so Lance jogged to catch up to her.

 

"Maybe whatever Keith, and I'm guessing you, touched, sent you to an alternate reality or switched your genders." He finished, never breaking eye contact with Kira.

 

"What if you were switched huh? What if you're in the wrong reality?" She said mounting the stairs.

 

Lance took the stairs two at a time to catch back up, "We could just ask."

 

Kira stared ahead, "Who? Kaltenecker?" She snorted.

 

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." He tapped his helmet, "Shiro, you there?"

 

Shiro's voice came cleanly through the communicator, clearly male. "Yep, you guys find anything?" From the look on Kira's face, she heard his voice too.

 

Lance couldn't help the cocky grin that overtook his features, "Nah, just checking on you guys. We need to talk when we get back to the castle though." Shiro talked a bit more before signing off. "You touch it, you get switched."

 

"That's not even slightly humorous." Kira said, reaching the hallway and turning back to him. Lance just flashed his signature grin as nausea chewed at his throat. "At least Lana's pretty." She mumbled before making a bee-line towards Red. Lance wasn't sure whether to take the last line as an insult or compliment. Besides, his head pounded and made it difficult to think about doing anything besides following Kira. The floor and walls blurred as his thoughts turned to mush in his skull. Lance's knee buckled and the floor rushed to meet him before catching himself with his good hand.

 

"Lance, you doing okay over there?" Kira's voice was small and far away as Lance struggled to keep his eyes open. Light footsteps made their way towards him. Even through her gloves and his armor, Lance could feel the heat radiating off of Kira's body as she pulled him up once more. The floor shifted under him and the boy found himself using Kira as a brace.

 

" 'm doin jus fine. Jus a lil' dizzy." He managed to get out through gritted teeth.

 

"Men." Kira hissed through her nose as she pulled Lance forward.

 

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you get thrown into a wall from a magical explosion."

 

"I'm sorry," she responded in a mocking tone, "I thought you'd be used to it by now."

 

Lance limped forward a bit more, "Yeah, last time I checked I almost died from said explosion so this is an upgrade."

 

Kira grunted under Lance's weight combined with growing annoyance, "Yet I still have to carry your sorry ass."

 

"Don't remember you complaining the last time." He retorted. He might have had severe head trauma but that wasn't going to stop him from picking buttons, call it little sibling instinct.

 

Kira helped haul Lance into Red and dropped him on the floor, "You weren't talking that time, which leads me to consider this situation a downgrade."

 

Lance bit his lip and scooted over to the wall, the conversation apparently over. His head pounded and his arm throbbed now he'd have to find a way to explain everything to the team. How does one explain that your friend touched a glowy thing and is now the opposite gender? And where was Keith? A sharp pain shot its way through Lance's head and he decided to save the thinking part for later.

 

"We should probably stick around this planet for a while." Kira said after a long silence and shaking Lance out of a head injury induced nap.

 

"What?" He croaked with tired vocal cords.

 

"Us, The Team. We should stick around," She shifted her eyes and glanced at where Lance was sitting on the floor of the cockpit, "Whatever was down there got us into this mess and can definitely get us out of it."

 

Lance scooted closer to where she sat piloting the Lion, "Then why'd we leave in the first place? We wouldn't have a problem. You'd be back with Lana and your team."

 

"God, you're dense. You're injured and we need to get you medical attention." She pulled a lever and the Red Lion eased into his hanger.

 

"Wow, kind of sounds like a plot device for a story." Lance grumbled. Either Kira didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. She pulled him up by his good arm and pulled him into the hanger. She started heading for the med-bay before Lance pushed her off, "Woah, I'm taking you to the bridge first. We need to figure this out."

 

"What? No, I'm taking you to the infirmary." She made a grab for his arm but he quickly sidestepped, much to the dismay of his growing headache.

 

"You think the team is going to just let you walk around the castle? They aren't the same people you know. You're a stranger to them."

 

"But if you're right, they should have no problem with me doing whatever the fuck I want!" her voice rose a bit higher in volume.

 

"They aren't the most trusting right now. This is war and we're all a little stressed. Trust me and let me talk to them first. Then you can escort me to the infirmary." Lance leveled his tone to more of a whisper in hopes she would do the same.

 

Her lips were set into a slim, stubborn line and her dark indigo eyes never left Lance's before she huffed and stomped towards the bridge. She stopped and yelled back to him, "If you drop dead, it isn't my fault!"

 

* * *

 

"Let me do the talking-"

 

"You are always talking, Lance." Kira interrupted.

 

"Oh, I see, way to be observant." Lance pushed through the doors were the team was sitting and talking. Pidge was the first one out of her chair when the duo walking through.

 

"What the fuck happened to Keith?" She said standing on the seat of her chair and hands resting on the back.

 

"Pidge!" Shiro yelled, "Language!" In which Pidge promptly ignored him. Shiro stepped forward as he spoke, white tuff of hair bouncing.

 

Lance walked over to his chair before flopping down on it and removing his helmet, exhaustion settling on him like a blanket. "Keith touched shiny object, object went boom," he made a motion with his good hand, "Keith is Kira." Lance brought his knees up to his chest.

 

"Wait," Hunk stood and made his way over to Lance an inspected his head, "What happened to you?" He took Lance's face in his hands and gave it a more thorough look over.

 

Kira was silent for most of the quick exchange but moved towards Lance's chair and set her hand on the back of it. She leaned forward and helped Hunk examine him for any visible injuries, "I touched something that looked like a mirror. Some weird alien tech and it shattered throwing us backwards."

 

"It switched your gender?" Shiro asked. He grabbed a piece of cloth from a compartment in his chair and joined the ever growing circle of people surrounded and now claustrophobic Lance.

 

"Not exactly," Kira grabbed the cloth and dabbed gently on the side of Lance's head. He winched and she chuckled, "See, I wasn't with Lance, I was with a girl named Lana who looks  and acts just like him."

 

Lance snatched the cloth and held it to his temple. He scooted forward in his seat, "I'm thinking more like an alternate reality. An irl genderbend."

 

"Of course!" Pidge righted herself on her seat and opened her laptop, "Slav is always going on about alternate realties. It would make perfect sense for there to be one were everyone's genders are switched. Lance said your name was Kira?"

 

"Yeah…" She said hesitantly.

 

"Another question, how did you meet us?"

 

"Lana, Hanna, and Pidge hijacked my rescue mission." Kira crossed her arms like she was still made the three of her new friends interfered.

 

"I still go by Pidge?" She asked from her seat. She appeared to be jotting down notes.

 

"Yeah, but your real name is Kyle." Lance leaned back in his seat and watched the exchange in silence.

 

"This is awesome!" Hunk yelled, "This is proof of multiple realities. Pidge, this single-handedly proves the multiverse theory."

 

"I know," she responded excitedly, "This existing means there can't be any physical paradoxes which-"

 

"In turn proves that the universe has the ability to coexist and keep a stable grasp on space, time, and physics on who knows how many universes!" Hunk was doing that thing where he holds his fists to his chest.

 

"Imagine if we took this information back to Earth!" Pidge's eyes glinted in the reflections of the lights.

 

"Imagine if you two stopped yelling." Lance grunted. Shiro knelt and took Hunk's place in front of Lance. His Galra hand gently grabbed the younger boy's hand and pulled it from his face.

 

"We should really get you to the infirmary. You aren't looking that hot." He said. Lance's eyes shifted over to the once white cloth now covered in blood. Shiro slowly helped him to his shaky feet. Kira moved to help but Shiro put up a hand to stop her, "Stay here and help Pidge and Hunk catch Allura and Coran up to speed."

 

Kira looked mildly panicked but nodded grimly and took a set in Keith's chair. Shiro guided Lance out of the room.

 

* * *

 

The way to the infirmary was mainly spent in silence but Shiro broke it as they neared it, "Are you sure we can trust her? We don't know if she is Keith."

 

Lance forced himself to focused as he walked and was half dragged across the floor, "I know we can trust her. It's just a feeling I have. Besides have you seen her? She is practically Keith Number 2."

 

Shiro nodded, "If you trust her than I do. You're good at reading people Lance."

 

"I'm practically this team's therapist at this point." Lance said. He caught a glimpse of Shiro chuckling in his peripheral vision.

 

"You're right about that."

 

The two made idly chattered despite the protests in Lance's brain until they reached the infirmary. Lance really hoped he was right about Kira but he had a pretty good feeling about trusting her.

* * *

 

[A New Light Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/anewlightao3bysaturnite)

[My Insta](https://www.instagram.com/saturnite0614/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty dialogue heavy in my opinion but I really like writing dialogue. I decided to make a tumblr for this fic because I have high hopes for it and really want input from readers like you guys! I also might post art of what the genderbend characters are supposed to look like. Feel free to tag anything about A New Light to it (you don't have to but it is an option now)


	3. Classical Music and Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hasn't been that long since I last posted a chapter but I've had this one done and wanted to celebrate Season 6. It was so good. Anyway is you have any questions or suggestions I have a Tumblr and Instagram and I will link thme down below after the chapter. Also feel free to comment them down below.

If you had asked Keith what his days were going to be like, he wouldn't have told you he would be sitting across from his friends with switched genders.

 

Hunk, or Hanna, and Pidge (But not Katie, Kyle) sat across from him excitedly gushing over multiverse theory and asking him multiple questions.

 

Hanna had Pidge's laptop on her lap while Pidge paced on the table top in the dinning room (since when did Pidge walk on furniture?) "What happened when you went to the Blade of Marmora base with Shiro?"

 

Pidge jumped down from the table and seated himself next to Keith, "Are you part Galra?"

 

"Yes, I thought we had already established that everything was the same. Are you sure Lana is okay?" He said, worrying flooding his features and impatience surrounding his tone.

 

Pidge snorted, "She'll be fine," He flicked his braid over his shoulder and readjusted his glasses, "Besides, I just want to be 100% sure that our realities are the same. You know, for science."

 

Hanna typed some notes down and readjusted her headband, "I don't know Pidge. We have been grilling him for hours now. I'm sure we have enough information." She smiled and closed the laptop. She stood, still towering over Keith in height, "Lana should be getting out of the healing pod soon if you want to talk to her,"

 

Pidge snatched his laptop from Hanna, "I'm sure she would be appreciate clothes. If you want to, you know, bring her some." He lifted his eye brows in a suggestive nature.

 

"Why'd you say it like that?" Keith asked, clearly confused. Pidge responded by rolling his eyes and leaving the dinning room, leaving Keith and Hanna alone.

 

"I swear Pidge is a god. He knows more things than we hope to imagine but he has one thing right,  Lana would appreciate her clothes so if you're heading that way might as well help her out. Now I better stop Pidge from blowing something up." She gave him a small smile and  friendly wave before stopping the carnage that is Pidge's curiosity.

 

Keith sat in the dinning room, alone with his thoughts. Why was he so worried about Lana? Lana was Lance and Lance was always a dick to him so he shouldn't care as much. He'd like to think that Zarkon and Lotor were his biggest enemies but with each passing day it turned out to be his emotions. He rubbed his eyes and rested his head in his hands before sighing loudly. He was tired both physically and emotionally and this whole situation wasn't helping.

 

Keith lifted his eyes towards the sound of someone entering the room. Alluran (Allura in his reality) swept in with movements full of grace despite his messy hair tied into a small ponytail. He flopped down next to Keith and sighed. It appeared that he hadn't noticed Keith sitting there and he cleared his throat. Alluran jumped and almost fell out of the seat. He sat there for a solid minute before regaining his composure.

 

"Kira!...Uh, Keith. I didn't…didn't see you there." He said, quickly sitting up straight. Keith hadn't had the time to talk with him in either realities so the situation was awkward to say the least.

 

"Hi," Keith gave a stiff wave before coughing into his gloved fist.

 

Alluran shifted uncomfortably, obviously getting over his embarrassment, "I'd thought you'd be in the infirmary with Lana."

 

Keith threw his hands in the air, "Why does everyone think that?" His voice cracked with every other word.

 

"Well," Alluran seemed to regain his royal composure he carried everywhere, "You two are constantly together. Mainly fighting but together none the least."

 

"Are we?" Personally, he thought that they'd rather be as far away from each as possible.

 

"Yes. Have you not noticed?" Alluran gave him a small smile.

 

Keith shrugged his shoulders, "I guess not." And that was the end of their conversation because Keith is a social alien, "I'm going to…uh, go now. See you around, Alluran."

 

Alluran nodded and the two parted ways on still awkward terms. 

* * *

  
 

Keith was surprised to find Lana's room empty. For someone who seemed so family oriented, a room with nothing but a gaming system felt lonely and out of place. The only thing that even remotely suggested that someone inhabited the room was a pile of discarded pajamas in the corner, jeans and a t-shirt on the bed, and an army jacket hanging on the wall. Nothing hinted of the person Keith knew.

 

He had no way of knowing whether or not the clothes on the bed were clean but he definitely didn't want to be caught snooping around the room in search of other clothes. Which led him to realize he was still wearing his armor and was getting uncomfortable. He would have to ask Lana is she knew where any clothes were. Keith grabbed the clothes and draped them over his arm. Almost as an afterthought, Keith grabbed the jacket off the wall and headed out into the hallway.

 

Why was he going to see Lana anyway? It seemed to out of his character but according to the rest of the team, it was exactly the type of thing he would do. The hallways were empty of sound and Keith's ears rung in the silence. He couldn't focus, but that wasn't anything new to him. Lana's jeans and jacket bounced against his thigh giving him something to at least pretend to pay attention to as he made his way down the long castle corridors.

 

The all too familiar door to the castle's infirmary loomed ahead of him, along with the overwhelming realization that he would have to talk to someone again but Lana seemed like the only person on this team who didn't act like Keith was a different person. She teased him and barely gave him the answers he wanted when he asked questions. The rest of the team saw him as someone who wasn't Kira despite the fact that everything that made up her made up Keith. Lana saw that.

 

The door opened with that satisfying _swish_ that all the castle doors opened with and Keith walked in. He expected Lana to still be in the healing pod but she was sitting on the floor in the suit that they had to wear. Her hair fell around her face in soft brown curls and her blue eyes focused on the floor and barely shifted up when Keith walked in. She looked sad and if Keith wasn't gay as fuck, he would have blushed.

 

As Keith neared, she finally met his eyes, instantly schooling her features into something more perky and definitely more Lance like in nature. She smiled, her face full of cocky pried despite having done nothing to deserve it. But the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, much like Lance's had in recent memories.

 

"What do you have there, Mullet?" She asked, standing. Lana crossed her arms and examined what was in his hands.

 

"I…uh, brought you your clothes." Keith handed them awkwardly to her. Her hand brushed his and form a moment he saw Lance standing there instead and his face went red.

 

If Lana noticed, she didn't say anything, "I appreciate the gesture but you forgot something important," She shook the clothes, "My shoes."

 

Keith's face went a shade darker. At this rate, he was going to match the Red Lion in color, "I…I didn't see them."

 

She punched him in the shoulder and Keith noticed she was no longer in the sling, "It's fine. I'll grab them later, but you owe me," Lana noticed Keith staring at her now free arm, "Oh, yeah, uh this last bout in the healing pod finally mended the bone. So you don't have to feel guilty anymore, Samurai."

 

Keith didn't know how she knew how he felt guilty but despite her words, he still felt the guilt on his shoulders.

 

Lana stepped back and turned around. Keith didn't know what she was doing until she pulled the top of the med suit off revealing a blue bra. Keith quickly turned around.

 

"Why are you still here?" She aggressively asked over her shoulder.

 

Keith forced himself to look in front of him for sake of decency, "I wanted to talk."

 

"That's rare," She snorted, "What about?" Followed by the rustling of clothes.

 

"I don't know. You're the talker, not me." His own form of aggression lacing his words.

 

"Whatever." Keith turned and saw Lana stalk towards him shrugging on her jacket.

 

"Since when do you turn down the opportunity to hear yourself talk?" Keith said jogging up to catch up to her.

 

"How do you manage to insult me yet still try to act like this is a normal conversation?" She said pressing the button to open her bedroom door. He expected her to close the door in his face but instead turned around.

 

"What do you want me to say?" He asked, desperate to not be alone again.

 

Lana smirked, "Say…Say you want to hang out with me because I am the coolest and nicest person you've ever met."

 

Keith felt his features drop, "I will never say that."

 

Lana made to close the door, "Enjoy being alone!" She said cheerily.

 

Keith put his hand between the door and wall, "Okay, Okay. You…You are-"

 

"I'm joking, jeez. Let me grab somethings, I want to show you something." She said, laughing as she closed the door.

 

Keith stood in the hallway waiting impatiently. Curiosity the only thing keeping him standing there. After what seemed like an eternity, Lana walked out. Her hair swept behind her head using a black scrunchie and her phone in her hand. She slipped something in her pocket.

 

"Come on," She marched off down the hallway.

 

"Where are we going?" he asked, again jogging to catch up with her ridiculously long legs.

 

Lana glanced over her shoulder, "You wanted to hang out, so we are." She didn't say anything else and they traversed the castle in comfortable silence.

* * *

 

Lana grabbed onto an old door and pulled sideways on it, after a moment it opened with a squeaky groan. Dust flew up into the darken corridor and a soft light filtered through it.

 

"I found this place one night when I couldn't sleep. I guess the old paladins rarely had time for it." She said brushing some dust off of her face.

 

The room was small and round, the walls completely covered in windows overlooking the vast amount of space. Stars stretched out forever surrounded by clouds of purple, black, and blue. To say the least, it was breathtaking. Keith stood at the door seeing his reflection swallowed up by darkness. The only light coming from a small lantern next to a large pile of blankets. They were situated in the center of the room. Lana knelt over the blankets and put a small black box next to the lantern and pressed some buttons on her phone. Classical music filled the small room. Keith never took Lance as the classical type.

 

"Hello? You still there?" She said sarcastically and flopping down on the blankets. Keith pulled his eyes from the view and shuffled over to the blankets. Lana tossed him a bag which he caught with one hand, despite being caught off guard.

 

"What is this?" He asked, examining the bag in his hands.

 

Lana snorted, "Clothes, dumbass."

 

Keith opened the bag and saw a plain white t-shirt and blue pants, "Where did you get these?"

 

Lana shrugged, Keith looked down at the movement and saw the stars reflected in her eyes, "Found them in my closet. They're too big for me though, pretty normal looking for an alien ship."

 

He pulled the clothes out and proceeded to change in one of the darker corners. White wasn't his color but anything was better than wearing his armor for a long time. Oh his way back, he made a point of dropping the bag on Lana's face just to be annoying.

 

She pulled it off and again, Keith saw Lance lying there instead of Lana. He expected a scowl but saw her smiling as she tossed it at him again. Keith caught it and sat down, legs stretched out in front of him.

 

"How did you find this place?" Keith asked breathlessly, once again caught up in the beauty of space.

 

"I told you, I couldn't sleep. So one night I just got up and wandered around and presto, found this place." She pulled the scrunchie from her hair and started to fiddle with it.

 

"Bet you hang out with Hanna and Pidge here all the time. You guys seem close." Keith said, eyeing the scrunchie.

 

Lana sighed and stared at the object in her hand with a type of melancholy that looked off on her features, "We are, but we barely talk anymore. Three's a crowd, I guess. Besides, I've never brought anyone here." She squeezed her hand and dropped it to her chest.

 

Keith stared at her hands, "Who's is that anyway? It seems important to you." He motioned to her hands and her face went redder than his armor.

 

Lana's head whipped towards him and then back to her hands, "This?" She held the scrunchie up, her voice shaking, "Kira's…I don't know why I have it. I'll give it back once she, you know."

 

Keith didn't know why she seemed so nervous but decided to drop the subject and didn't question how she got Kira's scrunchie. He finally flattened himself on his back and took in some more details of the room. Even the ceiling was made of glass windows. Maybe the room was an observatory or astronomy room. He could see why Lana liked it so much. It made him relax for once and find some sort of inner peace, but his thoughts soon started to wander.

 

If Lana had found this place, that meant Lance had too. He wandered if Lance would ever show him like Lana had, maybe open up some. Although Lance loved to talk, Keith realized he never talked about his family like a lot of the team. Or even his hobbies. Really, the team knew nothing about him.

 

Despite it being out of character Keith blurted out, "Tell me about your family."

 

"What?" She pushed herself up onto her arms.

 

"What's your family like? You never talk about them." He asked.

 

"Well," She lowered herself back down, "I have some sisters, Marcia and Louisa, but they're both older than me and a brother. Vernon is younger than me by a year and I barely talked to them because I was busy with the Garrison," Lana focused on the ceiling, eyes going glassy, "I regret that so much." Her voice broke.

 

"I miss them." She said.

 

Keith averted his gaze. Lana wiped her eyes and chuckled, "I'm sorry, It's just really dusty in here."

 

"My mom left when I was younger," Keith said, "Then my dad died before I started at the Garrison."

 

Lana looked at him, tears still falling down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, Keith."

 

"I've…dealt with it I guess. I found a family in Shiro after that…but then the Kerberos mission happened." His own voice was cracking.

 

Lana rolled over and faced Keith, "Wow, I'm a dick."

 

Keith glanced at her, "Why?"

 

"Here I am whining about my family when you've barely had one." She rolled back over.

 

"You're not a dick. I'd miss them more if I knew them." Keith put his arms behind his head and observed the constellations.

 

They relapsed into silence having nothing else to talk about. In theory, Lance would be having this same conversation with Kira. What would happen between the two of them when and if he made it back to his reality?

 

Keith didn't remember when he nodded off but he did being wrapped in the worn blankets and the heat of the lantern settling on his skin.

* * *

 

When he finally woke up, Lana's small snores filled the small space. Keith's vision was blurry and he stifled a groan as he rolled over. To be honest, he expected Lana to snore like a monster and was pleasantly surprised when it was the opposite.

 

She shifted in her sleep and rolled over. Keith's bones popped as he sat up and startled Lana. She jumped and her hair fell in her face, "I'm up!"

 

Her wild eyes landed on Keith's startled face and she quickly brushed the hair out of her face. He imagined the startled look and messy hair on Lance and he couldn't stop himself from laughing. Lana blushed and quickly scowled, "You startled me, excuse me for being startled!"

 

Keith stretched his arm behind his head, "It was funny!"

 

She snatched the speaker up and shoved it in her pocket followed by her phone, "You don't look that much better if you're wondering."

 

He brushed the back of his hair down with his hands, not taking his eyes off of Lana, "No wonder I don't like you." He grumbled.

 

"Yet you still hang out with me you loner." She stood.

 

"How is that an insult?" Keith stood as well grabbing the discarded pieces of his armor.

 

"Is it though?" Lana turned on her heel and headed into the hallway, "Are you coming?"

 

Keith shoved the armor in the bag and followed her out, "Where are we going now?"

 

Lana pointed to her stomach just as it growled, "Dinner." 

* * *

[My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/anewlightao3bysaturnite)

[My Insta](https://www.instagram.com/saturnite0614)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, how would you guys feel about a Detroit: Become Human fic? I have some jumbled ideas and might develop them after I finish A New Light.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk why I broke Lance's arm. I just felt like it. How do you like their names so far? Next chapter will be Kira's perspective with some of Lance's. Let's see where this takes up.
> 
> btw I will not be uploading everyday like I did with my last fic because I just started it.


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